Nathaniel Bloom is the CCAA Player of the Week After Two Game-Winning Goals

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SAN RAMON, Calif. - University of California San Diego senior forward Nathaniel Bloom (Encinitas/San Dieguito HS Academy) was named Tuesday as the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men's Soccer Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 24-30.

Bloom tallied both game-winning goals for No. 13 UC San Diego as it remained an unbeaten 9-0-1 to conclude a season-opening 10-match homestand. Having last scored as a true freshman on Sept. 8, 2015, Bloom headed in the 42nd-minute opener against Sonoma State on Friday night, in a 2-0 shutout. He then provided another late first-half goal Sunday against Humboldt State to make it 2-0, in what ended as a 3-1 decision for the Tritons. The times of the goals were 41:37 and 41:04. Bloom produced those goals on his only two shot attempts for the weekend.

Bloom is the first UC San Diego men's soccer player to earn CCAA Player of the Week distinction since another senior, winger Christian Cordell, picked up the 2016 season's final award on Nov. 1, 2016, after his historic 89th-minute goal at Cal Poly Pomona to give the Tritons their first CCAA regular-season title in program history.

UC San Diego (9-0-1, 3-0-1 CCAA) finally hits the road for the first time this week. The Tritons make the short trip up to city and CCAA rival Cal State San Marcos (6-2-1, 2-1-1 CCAA) on Wednesday, Oct. 3, with kickoff at The Cage slated for 3 p.m. UC San Diego had won a thriller of a non-conference meeting, 3-2 in overtime, in La Jolla on Sept. 21. The Tritons are then at San Francisco State this Sunday, Oct. 7, in a nationally-televised contest beginning at approximately 2:05 p.m.

In the latest United Soccer Coaches polls, also released on Tuesday, UC San Diego moved up from No. 13 into the top 10 at No. 9 nationally, and from No. 3 to No. 2 in the West Region, only behind top-ranked Canadian outfit Simon Fraser (9-0).

About UC San Diego AthleticsWith 30 national team championships, nearly 150 individual titles and the top student-athlete graduation rate among Division II institutions in the United States, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program annually ranks as one of the most successful in the country. The Tritons sponsor 23 intercollegiate sport programs that compete on the NCAA Division I and II levels and, in summer 2020, will transition into full Division I status as a member of the Big West Conference. UC San Diego student-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent. A total of 80 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 36 have earned prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships. In competition, more than 1,300 UC San Diego student-athletes have earned All-America honors.

Follow the TritonsFor complete coverage and information regarding UC San Diego Athletics, follow the Tritons online at UCSDtritons.com and through social media on Twitter (@UCSDtritons), Instagram (@ucsdtritons) and Facebook (UCSDtritons). For more information on UC San Diego Men's Soccer, follow on Instagram (@ucsdmenssoccer) and Facebook (UCSanDiegoMensSoccer).